CHAPTER 1

My head feels like a balloon, swollen and light. I’m lying on my back, inside the box, as my mind screams hysterically for freedom. I blink over and over again, trying to focus, but there’s only darkness. I can still move, but it’s like my limbs are dead weight. Whatever they injected is making me woozy, but it hasn’t taken full effect yet. I can feel it trying to pull me under as each moment passes.

The box tips forward a little and I know we’re in the stairwell.

I’m still coherent enough to think and I’m so far past irate that I’m ready to claw someone’s face off. Screw that. I am not dying in a box. And Sean. What the holy f*ck did he do?

My brain tries to race through scenarios at a sluggish pace and I know I can’t wait anymore. We’re on a landing. I react, and slam my body into the side of the box. The sudden movement makes the container tip and slip from their grasp. I hit the floor hard, but they didn’t think to seal me in. The box falls open on its side and I scurry out. Gabe is cursing and stuck in the corner on the other side of the container. The other thug fell down the next flight of stairs.

Move, I scold myself, and start crawling up the stairs.

Gabe warns, “Don’t do it.” But I don’t listen. He doesn’t chase after me. Instead, he goes to help the other man.

I manage to stumble back to my room. Asia sees my zombie-like steps and laughs. “You’re a little too toasted to be walking around. You want help?” I try to tell her no, but she thinks I’m high and insists on taking me back to my room.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” She’s laughing lightly and takes my arm, helping me down the hall. Everything is spinning and tipping. I’m so going to puke. Asia’s been talking and her questions finally register. “And she hasn’t been in class either. Do you know where Mel is? I’m worried.”

“She’s been around,” I lie. “I saw her last night.”

“Ah, so this means Mel has some goodies again. No wonder why she didn’t come back. She didn’t want to share.” Asia makes no sense, and when she’s by my door, she reaches for the knob. I have no idea what Black and Sean are doing, but I’m worried they’re going to shoot her.

Ripping my arm away from hers, I snap, “You’re such a bitch, Asia. Mel didn’t come home because she can’t stand you. Damn, take a fu**ing hint.”

Asia straightens and holds her shoulders back. Her jaw drops as I speak and then snaps shut. She twirls on her heel and marches back down the hall to her room and slams the door. I feel bad for saying it, but I don’t want her involved. I may regret it when I can think straight, but I can barely string together thoughts, much less come up with creative lies.

I know I have seconds before Gabe and his buddy drag me away, so I shoulder my way through the door. Sean is standing in front of Black with fury in his eyes. Black glances over her shoulder at me. Her slender arms are folded over her chest and she looks pissed.

I have trouble controlling my speed and hurl my body right at her, knocking her down. Miss Black hits the floor with an oof. I manage to stay on my feet, and stagger over to confront Sean. For half a second I just stare at him, and then I make a fist. Before I know it, my knuckles have connected with his jaw. Sean’s face whips to the side on impact and a little trail of red drips from his lip. His blue gaze is on fire and I’m afraid.

I go to punch him again but he catches my hand. I try to pull it away, but he won’t let go. “I told you to go with them.” He growls the words like a feral animal.

Ignoring him, I yell in his face. “You’re engaged to someone else! What the fuck! You lied to me, this whole time you’ve been lying to me! I want to know why.” Black gets to her feet behind me and makes a horrible sound as she grinds her teeth. I’m pretty sure they’re going take me to the woods and bury me in that box.

Sean’s gaze is locked on mine. “Avery, you have to leave. Now.”

“No!” I shove his chest. Black tries to touch my shoulder to spin me around, but I hiss at her, “Don’t you touch me!” Miss Black gnashes her teeth, but she backs up after glancing at Sean. I turn to Sean once more and say the words that are burning a hole in my tongue, “Here, you fucker. Take your goddamn ring back and never talk to me again. Ever.” I rip my ring off my finger and throw it at his face.

By the time I turn around, Gabe is behind me. His accomplice is pissed and bloody. I’m still fighting the drugs that are trying to pull me under, but I won’t let them win. I stagger when the rush of energy slips away and Gabe grabs my arm. “Why don’t you listen?” he asks softly.

Sean hasn’t moved, offered an explanation or anything. He remains rigid and lifeless. The man is made of stone and I gave him my heart. I let out a pathetic sobbing sound and slump in Gabe’s grip before Black says, “Take her out of here. Now.”

CHAPTER 2

I’m hauled away and shoved into a car. They abandoned the box. I have no idea where it went. It wasn’t in the stairwell when they carried me out. Whatever they shot into my arm makes my eyelids feel like they weight a million pounds. They keep trying to close, but I force them open again.

Time is screwy. I don’t know how much has passed or what’s going on, but I recognize the building in the city. It’s early in the morning by the time we get there. We head up to Miss Black’s office, where I’m told to wait until she comes back.

When the other man leaves, Gabe points to a chaise in the corner. “Go lay down.”

“No.” My arms are folded over my chest. I’m sitting in a chair, staring straight ahead.

“If you were my kid, I’d slap you.”

“Oh, please. If I was your kid, I wouldn’t be here. You would have killed every single one of them for looking at me funny. Let’s not play games anymore, old man. Why am I here?” I can see him shake his head out of the corner of my eye, but he doesn’t speak. “I’m dead, right?” I ask because I have to. My heart slaps into my ribs once and then goes back to its slow, drugged beating.

“Avery, listen to me. You’ve got no friends, no backup, no nothing. The only person batting for you on this team is me, and you don’t pay attention.” Sighing, he grips his forehead like he has a massive headache. When he glances up at me, his voice is softer. “Listen for once in your goddamn life, and listen closely. Black is full of shit. Watch what she says. Don’t take her word over Ferro’s. They’re both liars, but one of them is two steps ahead of the other.”

I’m still too out of it to grasp what he’s saying. “What are they doing? And which one is two steps ahead?” I turn and look at him.

“I don’t know, but the playing board is much bigger than you think.” Gabe disappears without further explanation.

I never felt so stupid in my entire life. I can barely think with this stuff in my veins and I wish that I’d never met Black. My life has totally fallen apart. I’m chasing a mental man that I can never have. No matter what I do, Sean will always be haunted by the memories that hide behind those beautiful eyes. Black is equally ruthless and scares the shit out of me. I have no doubt that she chopped up other girls who gave her trouble and planted them like daisies at the arboretum.

I need to get out of here, but I have nowhere to go—no one to hide me. Gabe is right. I’m alone. I bury my face in my hands and let out a rush of air. I’m fucked. How do I get out of this?

At that moment, Black walks in the room. She slams the door shut and tosses her purse on the desk, nearly hitting me in the head, before sitting down in her chair. “Do you have an idea what you’ve put me through?”

“You’re not my mother, so don’t pretend to care.” I glance up at her slowly. My words are sharp, but steady. My speech doesn’t slur the way I expect it to. The buzz seems to be wearing off.

Miss Black’s red lips curl into a sneer. “I don’t care in the slightest what trauma you’ve been through and if you ever equate me to your mother again, I’ll make you beg for death.” Her eyes narrow as she speaks and I know without any doubt that she hates me. “The only thing I care about is this company and your little stunt at the hotel put it in jeopardy. Where is Mel?” Staring her in the eye, I shrug. “Fine. You want to play it this way, then we’ll play.”

Black grabs a pair of sewing sheers from her desk. They’re silver with long blades. She stands and walks around behind me. Before I know what she’s doing, the crazy-ass woman slices open the back of my shirt. It falls forward and tumbles into a lump in my lap. “There are only so many things to cut before we get to skin, and from the looks of it, you already have a scar. Why add more?”

I’m ready to start a hysterical rant, but I shove it down. I need to be able to think. Miss Black is all about logic. I decide to give her the information she wants. “Mel is fine. She’s hiding. The last time I saw her was last night on Long Island. She’s not coming back until they find out who killed the look-a-like in Mr. Ferro’s hotel room.”

She laughs lightly. “Ah, are we back to formalities with Sean? Very well. It’s all for the best, because you couldn’t marry him and work for me.”

“I don’t want to work for you.” I sound rather dignified for someone sitting in a bra and jeans.

She smiles and slips up onto her desk, and crosses her legs. “Ah, that’s where you’re wrong. I have a new job for you, one you’ll adore. And since you’ve taken your previous career plans and sent them straight to Hell, I thought this would interest you.”

I glance up at her. “Nothing you can say will interest me. I’m done. I’m walking away from this. I didn’t see anything and I won’t say anything. There haven’t been any cops following me and nothing from the night at the hotel points back to you.”

“Ah, so they didn’t find a bracelet. Funny, because I thought they did.” Miss Black smirks. “Avery, my dear, you’re not going anywhere, not for a while. And like the rest of the girls, you work when I tell you to.”

“No, not me. I’m done.”

“So, tell me—where are you going to live? How are you going to pay for food? What about your bills? Do you have a secret trust fund that I’m unaware of, or do you really think you can make it on your own working at the steak house? Because that life wasn’t one you wanted, if I recall correctly. This is easy money, Avery. There’s a nice house with manicured grounds, a pool, and then there’s the money, but you don’t need that.”

Black slides off the desk and walks to her closet and continues talking. “Ideals won’t feed you and keep the rain off your back. They don’t protect you either, and like it or not, men want you. You have something that makes them come back for more, over and over again. It took me a while to see that I have you in the wrong position.”

I turn in my seat, holding my wadded, torn shirt in my hand. I’m so tired that I can’t think straight. For once, I just want to lay down and be left alone. Black’s words sound like noise in my ears. “What are you talking about?” I shouldn’t ask. I know I shouldn’t, but I’m screwed. I’m screwed and I know it. Graduation will come and go and I’ll get kicked out on my ass. I’ll be homeless.

Unless, I go beg Marty for a bed, and god knows how awkward that would be since he has a mad crush on me. I could share his bed and camp out over there when I thought he was gay, but not anymore. Too many things have happened, but I still yearn for his friendship. What the hell does that mean? I seem to only attract guys that suck. They lie to my face over and over again, and yet I can’t let them go. I’m too afraid to let anyone go. It feels like my life has shattered, the shards have been crushed to dust and are blowing away. I can’t stand it anymore.

“It’s not a complicated notion, Avery. As much as I detest you, there is something about you. Add in that desperation to survive and the job is perfect for you.”

“Again, what are you talking about?”

She smiles kindly and the floor of my stomach goes into a freefall. I shouldn’t have asked. The back of my neck prickles, as if whatever she’s going to say will change my life. “I was like you once—alone and desperate—forced to do things that I didn’t want to do.” She leans back in her chair and steeples her fingers. “Then I became a madam and my entire world changed. My employer made me the offer once, just as I’m doing for you. Do you understand what I’m offering?”

I stare at her. This is unreal. It can’t be happening. All I can manage is, “What?”

Black stares back, her dark eyes utterly unsympathetic. “You heard me.”

I have no idea what to say. After a few moments, I lick my lips and say, “Let me get this right. You kidnapped me and brought me here to ask me to take your place?” My voice has a have-you-lost-your-mind tone.

Black laughs lightly and it sends a chill down my spine. “No one can take my place, but I’ve realized I’m not utilizing your skill set in the best way possible. You’d be a madam in the location where I install you. You still answer to me, but you no longer earn your living laying on your back. Other women will do that and you’ll be in charge of them.”

I laugh, because I think she’s joking. “Yeah, right. Very funny. When are you going to shoot me and dump my body at Captree? This is getting old.” I’m tempting her to shoot me. Maybe it’s not my brightest move, but I’m too exhausted to think.

Miss Black pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs, before pressing a button under her desk. A moment later, Gabe opens the door. “Yes?”

“Miss Stanz requested that her body be dumped at Captree after her disposal.”

Gabe’s wrinkled face turns white, but his old eyes remain lifeless. He nods, saying, “Yes ma’am.”

She asks Gabe, “Or would you rather have the previous job I mentioned?”

Gabe’s expression is stern. “The previous job, Miss Black.”

“So convince you’re annoying friend to take it and thank me.” Miss Black gets up and leaves the room, as if she can’t stand the sight of me.

Gabe lets out a rush of air after the door closes behind her. His shoulders lose a little bit of tension as he lowers his huge body into the chair next to mine. “You told her no?”

“Gabe, she wasn’t serious. She hates my guts. Why would she offer me something like that?”